Wednesday, December 5, 2012

An early thirsty. . .

reflecting puzzlement more than misery (if I had time, I'd adapt Hiram's "baffled" graphic), but I figure the wise folks here might be able to help me out:

I just received an email at my university address from what appears to be a head-hunting (excuse me, consulting) firm, asking my input in a search for a new chair for a department in my field, at a school far across the country. This is a new experience for me, and I'm wondering why the heck they contacted me. They're certainly not trying to recruit me; I'm in no way qualified to be a tenured professor at an R1, let alone a chair.

To start with, I just don't have the publications. I have done a lot of conference presentations, and a bit of service in a national disciplinary organization, so that might explain my name somehow turning up (though there's no suggestion in the attached job ad that they're looking for a chair in the particular subfield the disciplinary organization addresses). Anyone who even superficially examined the bios on my department's website should be able to tell I'm pretty low on the totem pole, and probably not all that well-connected nationally. So,

Q. How should I respond to this? Should I just ignore it, on the basis that the question is way above my pay grade (though I don't particularly want to tell a recruiter that), and/or that anyone who identified me as a person to whom to ask this question must be seriously incompetent? Might there be something else going on (e.g. someone from my department, or someone I know from some other professional context, has already applied, and they're looking for information about hir?) Does this happen often to those of you in more senior positions? If so, how do you/do you respond?

9 comments:

I am a naturally paranoid person, so I'd delete it in the fear that it was some kind of phishing expedition (as in, once you respond, they end up asking you in some way for personal information).

I have not received anything like this before. Can you tell if it was a mass mailing? Can you see any clues from the e-mail address about the origin company? In any event, I think I'd ignore this, especially since you don't think you personally are a good fit.

I get calls for papers for conferences that have nothing to do with my field all the time (as I am sure you do too) and also requests for help with getting books published. ????? Why I get those, I have no idea. And of course, previews of all kinds of books, many of which are completely off topic for what I teach. One time the book looked interesting, so I took the guy up on his offer of a free copy. He was also a fellow JUCO prof at a college similar to mine. He was so pleased....I like to try to use his book in my Comp I class.

But in an attempt to offer something else, I wonder: do other universities and departments try to or need to attract "large enough" pools to satisfy EOF offices, deans, and/or provosts? Given the job market in my field, we have no problems "attracting a large enough pool," but I know some departments on this campus have to work to get more applications for the search to continue. The deans here have to "approve the pool" before the next round. The departments quickly cut the great majority of applicants a day or two after the deadline. Hardly seems fair to me. Is that the case elsewhere perhaps?

I thought of phishing, but it doesn't seem to be that; they're not directing me to a web site, but to email addresses and telephone numbers that appear, from other references on the web, to be legit (the same firm seems to be involved in searches for administrators at several other universities, and the info appears on those institution's web sites). Of course I could still end up redirected somewhere else. Also, the message is grammatical and correctly spelled (not definitive, I realize, but I've yet to receive a phishing email that is). I *have* gotten somewhat similar messages in the past from firms doing security clearances on students. There are sometimes FERPA issues with those (students have to okay contact/release of information before I can talk to them), but they've never turned out to be phishing, nor has anyone asked me for personal information. I'm inclined to think the message is legit.

I'm not sure how head hunters are paid, but if it's by the number of applicants, I'd think there would be some sort of cut-off (e.g. someone who isn't eligible to be tenured at the institution wouldn't count). Also, given the current job market and the fact that they don't seem to be looking for a particular subdisciplinary specialty (and judging by the number of fairly senior people at the last conference I attended expressing a desire to move up in some way or another -- salary, title, both), finding a particular number of applicants really shouldn't be a problem. An ad in any of the usual venues would do nicely, I'd think.

I'd take the opportunity to ask them for a consulting fee: $150/hour is what I get, whenever an engineering firm comes calling for my considered opinion. Who knows how they got your name: you might have been fingered by a more well-known colleague who didn't want to do this.

If the e-mail is legitimate, then the position will be advertised via the usual media. Where I have known of hunts for senior faculty that can be parachuted into a head's/chair's job the positions have always been advertised. Applying not through a headhunting firm is perfectly fine.

I currently have the misery of being a department chair. Almost as soon as I assumed this less than exalted position I started receiving emails from head hunters looking for Deans, Chairs in other Universities etc. I am absolutely not qualified by ability or temperament for the vast majority of the positions. I infer that the head hunters cast a very wide net. The email you describe seems pretty typical.

Since I have absolutely no desire to go any deeper into the administrative swamp, I just delete the emails.

Thanks for the replies. While I like Frod's suggestion (I really do need to do a better job of valuing my time, and my professional expertise, and insisting that others do the same), I think I'm going to follow cogito3's example, and simply delete. They do, indeed, seem to have cast a very wide net, whether for candidates or for consultants, and I'm not really an appropriate catch. I'll go back to filling out publishers' surveys now and then in hopes of earning a gift card, or, if I'm really lucky, an ipad. That's more my speed.

What Was This?

College Misery was a dysfunctional group blog where professors got the chance to release some of the frustration that built up while tending to student snowflakes, helicopter parents, money mad Deans, envious colleagues, and churlish chairpeople.

Our parent site, Rate Your Students, started in 2005, and we continued that mission beginning in 2010. Ben at Academic Water Torture and Kimmie at The Apoplectic Mizery Maker both ran support blogs during periods when this blog had died.